PITTSBURGH — Much ado about nothing.

That was the case Sunday when a seaplane touched down on the Ohio River near Heinz Field, police and pilot both admitted.

Steven Grabowski had flown his single-engine Maule from the Butler County Airport to revel with other tailgaters before the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers home opener against the Cleveland Browns.

The sight of a floating plane prompted numerous 911 calls from some of the startled pre-game partiers.

“I’m not sure why there was such a big stir about it,” said 62-year-old Steve Grabowski of Lower Burrell, Westmoreland County. “I guess not many people have seen a seaplane before.”

Besides, he’s done it before past Steelers games.

“And the same thing happens every time,” he conceded. “I don’t know why. I follow all the rules and regulations.”

A former state lawmaker who represented suburban Pittsburgh and a one-time Pittsburgh city councilman, Grabowski of Lower Burrell, Westmoreland County, landed a little after 9 a.m. Sunday.

Even before the landing, the phone lines to the county’s 911 center started burning up.

A city police officer met Grabowski on shore. The two shared a laugh.

The officer, it turned out, was the same one who had approached Grabowski several years ago at nearly the same spot at his initial seaplane tailgate excursion.

The retired contractor watched the first half of Sunday’s game at the stadium before flying back to Butler, where he watched the rest of the game on TV.

Grabowski has been a pilot for 21 years. He got his license after taking flying lessons at Butler County Airport.

In 2003, he bought the 235-horsepower Maule, which he keeps at a hanger at the same airport.